Alternate Universe
by delusional-lady
Summary: Maya-chan's magic sends both Nina and Tsujiai to a future where they see something very interesting. TsuxNina, KajixAyu
1. Chapter 1

Alternate Universe  
  
written by: delusional_lady  
  
Disclaimer: Me no own URU MANI  
  
Chapter 1:   
  
Green eyes glittered in the darkness. Another potion was complete and this time, she would not fail.   
  
"Nina, you will not succeed." Maya whispered as she gazed at the blue vial intently.  
  
"Baseball practice is cancelled for today." Kaji remarked. "How about going to the new bake shop around the corner?" He invited. Ayu nodded her head in agreement. There was no tennis practice that afternoon either so she was free to go. She glanced at Nina and Tsujiai, awaiting their answer.   
  
"Gomen ne." Nina apologized with a sheepish look on her face. "I need to catch up on some magic lessons so I will be staying in the library to study."   
  
"And I need to do a little research on muscle movement." Tsujiai explained.   
  
The new couple looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Nina noticed their indecisiveness and pushed them forward. "Go on and try the new shop for yourselves! It's such a sunny afternoon!"   
  
Tsujiai grinned and patted Kaji on the shoulder. "Yeah, don't waste the day." He added, hoping to convince the two.   
  
It didn't take much prodding before the two finally agreed to go without them. Nina wiped her brow in relief. "Thank god they finally gave in!" She said once the two were gone. Tsujiai nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, it will be a good chance for them to talk without other people staring at them." He muttered, remembering the attention Kaji and Ayu received after new of their relationship spread out.   
  
Nina smiled and then found herself looking at her shoes. She did not really have anything to study at the library since she left her magic books at home. What she had said earlier was only an excuse so Ayu would agree to go with Kaji alone. She looked up at Tsujiai and found him looking at her with his mysterious eyes.   
  
"Eto..." Nina trailed off, trying not to get flustered by the intensity of his gaze. "I guess you'd better do that research on muscle movement.."   
  
Tsujiai blinked once and then shook his head. "There's no research at all. I figured you were trying to get Kaji and Tateishi to be alone so I made up an excuse."   
  
Blink.   
  
Blink.  
  
"Ahehehehe!" Nina laughed, scratching the back of her head. "So I guess we both don't really have anything to do this afternoon!" Tsujiai grinned a bit. "Great minds think alike." He remarked.   
  
They stayed standing still for a few more minutes before a few students passed their way, whispering and giggling. Nina soon began to feel like she was standing in the middle of the way and a large sweatdrop appeared on her head. Tsujiai turned his head and took her hand, dragging her away from the school gates.   
  
"Tsujiai-kun!" Nina cried out in surprise.   
  
Tsujiai stopped for a moment and turned his head. "I felt you weren't exactly comfortable standing in the middle of the school gates so I'm taking us somewhere else."   
  
"Where are we going, then?" Nina asked, curious.   
  
"Do you want to get some ice cream?"   
  
Meanwhile, Kaji and Ayu were both enjoying their strawberry shortcake. At first, they felt a bit awkward walking together but it soon melted away when they realized that no one was around whispering and giggling.   
  
"How do you like your cake?" Kaji asked. Ayu smiled as she took a small piece into her mouth. "Delicious! I love strawberry!" She answered.   
  
Kaji returned the smile. He was more of the chocolate kind but strawberry sounded like a good idea. In fact, it might soon turn into his favorite.   
  
"Demo.. I wonder about Nina.." Ayu trailed off. Kaji nodded his head. "I wonder about Tsujiai as well. I don't know why he wants to do a research on muscle movement. It's not part of our lesson."   
  
"And I don't think Nina brought her magic books today." Ayu added.   
  
A wide smile appeared on both their faces.   
  
"You don't think..!" Ayu cried out.   
  
Kaji grinned. "It's possible."   
  
"Maybe.."  
  
"There's a chance.."   
  
Unknown to the happy couple, someone was eavesdropping in on their conversation. Maya narrowed her eyes when she heard about Tsujiai keeping Nina company. She didn't really want to involve anyone else with her spell since it would only complicate matters.   
  
"But some things just can't be helped. If it happens, it happens." The blonde witch whispered before she slipped away unnoticed. Lulu simply made a soft sound before disappearing on Maya's shoulder.   
  
The ice cream shop was on the other side of school. Tsujiai chose this place so they would not run into Ayu and Kaji. It wasn't as crowded as it was on weekends and so they were able to find a booth for themselves. The waitress gave them a sunny smile and a menu each.   
  
Nina used one to cover her blushing cheeks while pretending to choose something to order. Tsujiai had not let go of her hand until they reached the shop. She remembered the warm feeling of his palm and wondered if there was ever a sweeter feeling in the world.   
  
"What would you like, Nina?" Tsujiai asked, breaking her out of her reverie.   
  
"Hmm... There's so many..!" Nina remarked as her eyes scanned the number of different desserts. The waitress chuckled. "We get that all the time."   
  
Nina found making a decision difficult and decided that maybe Tsujiai should choose for her instead.   
  
"Alright, we'll both have chocolate chip." Tsujiai ordered. The waitress gladly wrote it down and took their menus away.   
  
As soon as the waitress left, somebody else made her entrance.   
  
"Maya-chan!" Nina cried out.   
  
"Orihara-san." Tsujiai said.   
  
It didn't seem like Maya was going to join their table and it didn't seem like she was here for ice cream either. Based on the magical uniform she was wearing and the fire burning in her eyes, Tsujiai gathered that she was here to throw another spell at Nina. Just as Maya pulled something out of her back, he leaned over and tried to cover Nina before the potion hit them both.   
  
There was a loud boom and smoke filled the place, alerting the fire alarms. The customers and the management ran out leaving only Maya inside. Nina and Tsujiai were gone, but they did not exit the ice cream shop. With a cold smile, Maya turned her back and disappeared.  
  
Her plan had succeeded.   
  
TBC... 


	2. Chapter 2

Alternate Universe  
  
written by: delusional_lady  
  
Chapter 2:   
  
  
  
Nina opened her eyes but all she could see was darkness. Frantic that she might be blind, the young witch struggled and felt some sort of fabric. Was she in a closet? So maybe she wasn't blind after all..!   
  
"Where am I..?" She wondered, trying to remember what had happened. Tsujiai had taken them to the ice cream shop where they ordered something.. And then.. "Maya-chan..!" She cried out. A hand suddenly clamped her mouth shut.   
  
"Mmph!"   
  
"Shh.. Stay quiet."   
  
Nina immediately relaxed, recognizing the voice. It was Tsujiai's. At least she knew he was safe.   
  
"Did you hear something?" A voice from outside asked. The two students inside the closet tensed.   
  
"Not really. It was probably Rio." A woman's voice answered.   
  
Both closet prisoners sighed in relief.   
  
Where Maya sent them, they had absolutely no idea but it didn't seem like a good thing to have the owners of the place open the closet and find them. How ever would they be able to explain themselves then?!  
  
"Honey, hurry up or we'll be late for the party." A man's voice said.   
  
"Coming!"   
  
There was a thud on the stairs and the sound of the lights being swtiched off. Tsujiai waited until he heard the door close and the sound of a car driving away before reluctantly opening the closet. He switched the lights back on and observed the whole place.   
  
Nina followed Tsujiai out of the closet and also looked around. They were in a house. Although whose house, she did not know. It didn't seem like they were in a house in the Magical Kingdom.. Maybe Maya simply transported them to someone else's home!   
  
"We have to get out of here, Tsujiai-kun!" Nina said as she prepared to leave. However, Tsujiai was rooted to the spot. He was looking at a couple of picture frames hanging on the wall. "We have no time to ...!" Nina couldn't finish her sentence for she had looked at the pictures too.   
  
"Impossible!" She cried out.   
  
The people in the pictures were of them!   
  
Of the two of them!  
  
Although Tsujiai looked slightly older and Nina's hair was certainly longer. Could it be that Maya's magic had sent them to the future?!   
  
Tsujiai sat down the couch and leaned back. Nina stayed standing, unable to form any words. What could this mean? Did this mean that she and Tsujiai were going to end up together?   
  
"This is really weird." Tsujiai remarked, looking at her. Nina nodded her head. "Hai."   
  
They stayed silent for a few more minutes before Tsujiai stood up and walked around. "Where are you going?" Nina asked. The young man smiled a bit. "Why I'm going to explore the place for a little while.. I'd like to see what this grown-up me is like.. I'd like to see if I bought a lot of cool stuff.."   
  
Nina smiled back. "That sounds interesting! I'll check upstairs!"   
  
And so they went their separate ways. Tsujiai wandered around and found a room which he assumed was his office. It was quite large and spacious with a grand set of electronics on one corner. On his mahogany desk was a high tech looking computer. However, what Tsujiai was glad to see was his collection of comics. All of them were neatly arranged on one shelf. Even his action figures were proudly displayed on the other shelves.   
  
Upstairs, Nina entered the first room she found. It was the master bedroom. There were a couple more pictures there and Nina saw a picture of her adult self and of adult Ayu. "We're still friends!" She noted happily. The next thing she looked at was her closet. There were a lot of clothes inside that might not fit her now and it seemed like she had a lot of party clothes inside.   
  
She was about to explore further when she heard the sound of footsteps. Panicking, Nina jumped inside the closet and closed the door. Fortunately, the keyhole was large enough to provide her a view of who the person might be. The first thing she saw was a pair of sneakers.   
  
"Come out, Nina." A familiar voice cried out. At this, the young witch's eyes widened and she came out of the closet.   
  
"Rio!"  
  
"Yo."   
  
Well, since this was a future time, it only made sense that Rio looked different as well. From the young kid that he was, Rio was now a teenager with shoulder length hair. It was still grey though..   
  
The two students looked at the future Rio with curious eyes. The latter had prepared some tea for them in the kitchen and now they were hanging out by the living room.   
  
"So, where exactly are we?" Tsujiai asked. Rio grinned. "What do you guys think?" He asked back.   
  
"The future..?" Nina answered uncertainly. Rio grinned again and nodded his head. "Well, it's yes and no."   
  
"What do you mean?" Tsujiai wondered.   
  
Rio sighed and stretched his arms. "Well, it's like this. You two have been sent away from reality by Maya's magic, right? She could not have sent you into the future since that's impossible. The future has not been written down yet. Fate has not been decided. Therefore, this is not the true reality."   
  
The two nodded their heads, finally understanding the situation they were in.   
  
"So this is like an alternate universe or something.." Tsujiai remarked. Rio nodded his head. "Actually, this universe is only created through the data Maya has on both of you. It's more of a distraction so Nina won't be able to collect the holy stones."   
  
"How do we get out of here then?" Nina asked.   
  
Rio shrugged his shoulders. "Magic, I guess. I mean Maya used magic to get trap the two of you here so it only makes sense that you will have to use magic to get out of here."   
  
Nina shook her head. "But this is high-level magic! There's no way I can overcome Maya-chan's magic!"   
  
It was Tsujiai's turn to shake his head. "Iie. I have faith in you. This may be high-level magic but you have come so far. You've managed to obtain holy stones and doesn't that make your level rise too?"   
  
"Yes, demo.."  
  
"Believe in yourself, Nina. Because I do. So does your grandfather and your parents. Kaji and Tateishi." Tsujiai went on.  
  
Nina closed her eyes and opened them with a determined look on her face. "You're right! I can do this! All I have to do is concentrate!" She said aloud before bringing out her persocon.   
  
"I must focus!Concentrate on the goal!" Nina's mind repeated over and over again. "I want to get back home! I want to get back home! Back where everyone is there! Where Ayu and Kaji are dating! Where I go to school! Where okaasan bakes cakes! Where papa fixes them! Where grandfather gives me reminders every single day! Back home!"   
  
With a bright flash, the world began swirling around. Nina could barely make out a waving Rio before everything went black.   
  
"Nina, are you alright?!"   
  
Nina opened her eyes and found three pairs of concerned eyes looking down at her. Getting up, the little witch realized that she was lying on the same booth she had been sitting on before Maya cast the spell.   
  
"Tsujiai told us about everything. It was a good thing that you managed to overpower Maya's magic." Ayu remarked. Nina nodded her head and beamed. "Hai. I couldn't have done it without Tsujiai's help though.."   
  
The sun was setting and it was time for them to go home. The four of them walked together with bright smiled on their faces until they had to part ways. "See you guys tomorrow!" Ayu and Nina waved. "Ja ne!" Kaji and Tsujiai waved back.   
  
"Arigato, Nina." Ayu remarked.   
  
"For what, Ayu-chan?" Nina asked.   
  
"Kaji and I.. We both appreciate what you did for us today.. It helped a lot."   
  
Nina beamed. "Daijobou, Ayu-chan! We're friends, remember?"   
  
"Hai!" Ayu nodded her head. "Friends forever!"   
  
TBC... 


	3. Epilogue

Alternate Universe  
  
written by: delusional_lady  
  
Epilogue:   
  
"That party was awesome, wasn't it?" A woman with long blonde hair remarked as she stepped out of her strappy sandals.   
  
"Yeah, Kaji's birthday celebration was great." The man said.   
  
A teenage boy with shoulder-length hair appeared by the doorway with a sharp fang showing in his grin.   
  
"Nina. Tsujiai. You guys are back!" Rio cried out.  
  
"Hai. Did we miss anything?" Nina asked.   
  
Rio simply grinned. "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." He answered.   
  
In his mind, Rio was grinning even wider.   
  
Nina. Tsujiai. This wasn't a true reality but it could be. It could be.   
  
OWARI 


End file.
